Bahrain ranked eighth among Arab states in terms of 'Female Prisoners'

A statistical report stated that Bahrain occupies the eighth rank among Arab countries in terms of female prisoners' rate, as they reached 4.7% of the total number of detainees in Bahrain, i.e is 189 female prisoners.

The report indicated that the number of female prisoners in Bahrain reached 101 in 2004 with 23.1%, whereas they reached 57 in 2009 with 11.4%.

The global report entitled "World Female Imprisonment List (Women and girls in penal institutions, including pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners" disclosed that Qatar and Kuwait are among the top countries in terms of female prisoners' rate. The report revealed that Qatar occupied the first rank among Arab countries with 14.7% female prisoners, which amounts to 81.

Kuwait came in second among the Arab countries, as the number of female prisoners reached 440 with 13.8%. However, Libya and Mauritania came at the bottom of the list with 1.2% female prisoners.

The report issued by the "Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute" did not specify the nationalities and ages of the female prisoners. It did not classify the type of crimes over which they were detained as well.

The report explained in its third edition that more than 700 thousands females languish behind bars worldwide, indicating that the rate of female prisoners has increased quicker than that of males since 2000, as it increased by 50% in the past 15 years.